Atletico Madrid’s head coach Diego Simeone expressed his disappointment after his team couldn’t capitalise on their dominance during significant stretches of the 2-1 loss to arch-rivals Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash on Tuesday.
However, Simeone took solace in his team’s response to an early setback, indicating he remains optimistic about their chances of turning the tie around in the second leg at the Metropolitano Stadium next week, recalling their comeback against Inter Milan at the same stage last year.
“We ought to have made better use of the control we had during the match,” Simeone remarked.
“It’s tough to take risks knowing that a counter-attack could cost us the game. We managed that aspect well, but we lacked that final touch.”
The Argentine manager expressed his belief that the vibrant atmosphere at their home ground would serve as motivation for Atletico, and noted that although they enter the second leg trailing, the situation could have been far worse had Real capitalised on a late opportunity.
Real’s Kylian Mbappe squandered a chance to assist Vinicius Jr in the dying moments of the match, which could have increased their lead.
“Perhaps the fact that they didn’t score opens the door to what lies ahead,” he said.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
Fanpage: SportArena.com.au.
LiveScore – Live Sports Results & Odds.
